A Story Of Things To Come
by turnitup5000db
Summary: Bad title, but its what I could think of. Basically the story of how Mirai Trunks timeline turned out so badly, with a few creative liberties taken.
1. Where It All Started To Go Wrong

Note: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the characters in this story, excepting Serrik Zash and any other characters not found in the Dragonball Z anime or Manga.

This is my first fic, so feel free to read and review. I'm planning on about 7-9 chapters, regardless, but I would welcome feedback, positive or negative.

A Story Of Things To Come

Chapter One : Where It All Started To Go Wrong

Sit down... let me tell you a story. I know you're too young to remember the war against the androids... you've always lived in this age where man is united and there is nothing to fear. This age where people have begun to discover the awesome potential developing their fighting strength gives them. But some things... should never be totally forgotten. I tell you this so that we, as a race, do not make the same mistake again. This world is too precious to be destroyed by the foolishness of a small number who see only their own ends. I tell you this so that the evil fool we now know as Gero may not lay any further claim to the legacy of his generation.

My story begins about a week before the androids made their first appearance...

I couldn't believe he was dead. Son-Goku... dead. Nothing had ever shocked me more. He had always seemed so verile... so full of life. What had happened? How could a man... in the prime of his life and in absolutely flawless health... have just... died? It made no sense, but in the course of just a week, that is exactly what had happened. A man I had known for nearly seven years had simply... wilted, is the only word for it... to death. The mortician had said the cause of death was the effect of a genetic heart failure, but it seemed that such an innocuous end to such a stout hearted and strong man was simply ludicrus.

I found I only knew a handful of the men (with a woman here and there) who suffered the same grief as I did around me, but we were all united here for the same reason, that was assured. I had not truly expected to know many of them... I was actually surprised I knew any of them at all, excepting of course my employers the Briefs familly, and the daughter, Bulma's ahem friend, Yamcha. I vaguely recognized a short, bald man as having a friendship with Bulma, but other than that, I knew no one.

But the mourners were not a small group, have no doubt about that. Goku was a very friendly man and I was sure he had acquired many friends in much the same way he had, and at that moment his home- not a small dwelling - was literally jam packed with those who had loved the big hearted man like a brother, or at least called him friend. A few stood out - there were a trio of nameks, those alien refugees who had been thrust onto our world, also a giant of a man with three eyes, accompanied by what looked to be a doll... and a short man with the oddest hair I have ever seen. The father in law of Goku, the Ox King, was of course present, as was an old man in a giant turtle shell. But of all the mourners, one man stood out the most, to my recollection, though I barely took notice of him at the time.

He was an elderly, discheveled looking man, dressed in a yellow and black pinstriped pair of pants and a dress jacket, with a cap. I knew little of the customs of foriegn nations at the time, and assumed that he was some ally goku had made in some distant travel. But one thing did stand out to me at the time, though it was less strange than some things in the room at the time - the three eyed man, for instance, I vividly recall gawking openly at him, which seemed to annoy him somewhat - but it was strange nonetheless. Upon his cap, he bore the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army.

Shortly it came time for we mourners to take our seats. In Goku's religeon, it was customary for each mourner to have a few things to say prepared, and a few of them, chosen before the death of the desceased, would be given the honor of speaking. It was a curious custom, but out of respect for him, I was sure each and every mourner was well prepared, hoping that they would be allowed to speak on his behalf of his courage, valor, and ability, as well as his kindness, compassion and spirit.

The obvious speakers came first... the wife and son, both of whom looked pretty shaken up, though who could blame them. Next up was the short bald man - Krillin was his name - who told stories of when he had trained with Goku as a child. He remained strong through most of his speach, even slightly jocular... but near the end, he seemed almost crushed by the weight of his sorrow. He was followed by the three eyed man -Tien - and the doll - Chao Tsu- who told of Gokus kindness toward both his allies and enemies. They were followed by one of the nameks, Piccolo (the crowd almost all recoiled at the name- who could forget the terrible reign of King Piccolo the first), who told of Goku's self sacrifice in the name of his familly, though I doubted some aspects of his story about goku fighting his brother for his son. Even Goku, strong as he was, could not come back from death. At the time, I thought perhaps it was an alligorical story.

The short, spikey haired man came next - Vegeta, though he insisted that he be called Prince Vegeta of Vegeta-Sei - at the time I assumed it was just some far flung land. Vegeta told of how, in his land, a man's ability to fight was almost everything, and how "Kakarot" (I assumed he was referring to Goku) had been both a worthy opponent and ally, and had saved him from a tyrannical userper named "Frieza". I made a note to myself to look up the names at the library... even though the chance never presented itself, I learned later who Frieza was... but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The speakers continued... Yamcha, Bulma, the Turtle Hermit Roshi, the Ox King... all the obvious speakers. I was so enthralled that I almost missed my name being called - "Serrik Zash". I sat, dumbstruck for a moment. Out of all these people... he had remembered ME on his deathbed? I felt honored, and a renewed sadness at his loss, now that I knew he thought so much of me. I slowly stood up, and made my way to the podium.

I began to think over my speach, wondering if it would be appropriate to tell the intricate details of how Goku had met me as a scientist at capsule corporation, how I had wished to spar with him, how he had beaten me, and then in his kindness, had trained me to a world class martial arts level, had taught me - to some degree- how to manipulate energy in order to fly and to create ki blasts. It all became a jumble in my head, and I began to panic. What had been my opening line? My closer? I had lost the whole speech in my head! I reached the podium, and was silent for a moment, and though it may have seemed like a pause for dramatic effect, in fact it was a pause for me to damn my stupidity and recollect my thoughts. I regained my calm, but still, the speach eluded me. The silence became uncomfortable. "Oh well, what the hell," I thought to myself. "I may as well just wing it."

"Son-Goku was my friend. He was my teacher. He taught me martial arts, and in so doing, he taught me how to survive, both in a fight and in the real world. He taught me to cope with my problems with calm, and to fight only when nesecary. To live, he once said to me, is more than just survival. It is surviving the fight without becoming someone you cannot live with. I will say this, and only this - he may not have had the highest intellect of any man alive. He may not have been the wealthiest man to have ever lived. His views and convictions probably earned him as many enemies as friends. But of all them men I have ever met, he was wiser and stronger in his wisdom than any sage or philosopher I have ever met. Son-Goku knew well not only how to survive, but how to live. Let his life be a lesson to us all, that we may all live as well, instead of meerly surviving." And at this, I took my seat.

There were a few more speakers, but I barely paid them any notice. I felt the fool. I was sure everyone there had detected my on the go ramblings. "Is this how you honor the man? By forgetting everything you had ready to say about him?" I asked myself. Shortly, the service ended, and all the guests went outside for a meal, with the exception of the man with the cap bearing the insignia of the Red Ribbon Army, who went in close to the casket, as if to confirm for himself that the man was dead. He then shook his head, turned on his heel, and strode off in a military fashion. I later identified him in a picture in one of the few remaining libraries - Dr. Gero. I never saw him again.

As I walked outside, I overheard five of the speakers - Krillin, Piccolo, Tien, Chao-Tsu, and Yamcha - talking about something. Suddenly, the group walked up and took me into their ranks. I felt somewhat nervous - these men, now that I knew their names, were all familliar to me, and had all, at some point or another, been in the top tier of the world martial arts tournament. If they felt any desire to harm me, against any one of them I might have MAYBE stood a chance. Against all five, such an attack would be suicide. If they were there to hurt me, there would be little I could do to stop them.

Krillin spoke first. "Those were some very kind words you had to say about Goku. I can see why he wanted you to speak for him."

Tien turned to me. "You seem to have hit the aspect of him we all missed. No one will ever accuse Goku of having been a genius, but he was very wise, in his own way."

I was amazed. These... legends... these friends of goku were complimenting me and allowing me to mingle with them for a moment. I felt honored for the second time that day.

Piccolo spoke to me in a hushed tone, looking around for anyone who might be listening in on our conversation. "Mr. Zash, we would like to speak to you... privately, about a matter of some urgency. Can you spare us a few minutes? This will take an hour at most."

"Please, Mr. Piccolo, call me Serrik. And I would be honored to speak with all of you, but... shouldn't we be going back in to the funeral? We will be missed."

Tien spoke. "Under normal circumstances, I would agree... however, this is most important, and I'm afraid that it IS now or never. Will you speak with us? I assure you the familly will not be offended."

I hesitated, then spoke. "Well... allright. If you're certain."

Krillin patted me on the back. "Thanks. You won't regret this... at least not right away."

I gestured to them. "By all means... lead on."


	2. My Induction

Note: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the characters in this story, excepting Serrik Zash and any other characters not found in the Dragonball Z anime or Manga.

This is my first fic, so feel free to read and review. I'm planning on about 7-9 chapters, regardless, but I would welcome feedback, positive or negative.

A Story Of Things To Come

Chapter Two : My Induction

We went to a secluded area, and after assuring ourselves no one was present, we took off flying over the treetops. I had serious difficulty keeping up with them, but eventually we sighted our apparent destination - a tall, thin tower with a large, saucer shaped lookout atop it, in the middle of a heavily forested area. Following the lead of the others, I landed atop the saucer. The others were all standing in a semicircle, obviously leaving a place for me. I recall being amazed at their stamina- they all seemed fresh as dasies, while I was panting at the exertion of the long flight. Stumbling and gasping for air, I made my way to the place in the group.

"Thank you for coming, Serrik." began Piccolo. " I'm sorry if I'm being abrupt or intrusive, but we haven't much time for pleasantries. Do you know why we've brought you here?"

"Are you... kidding?... I ... don't... even know where... here... is..." I panted.

Tien chuckled. "This place is called Kami's Lookout. It's a... meeting ground, of sorts."

"Good to... know..." I wheezed.

Piccolo spoke again. "I'll explain as best I can then, but time may be of the essence so I'm going to be brief. Goku was part of our small group of fighters. Gohan, Goku's son, is also one of us, but I won't pull him away from his final goodbyes. Oh, and "Prince" Vegeta is also with us, unofficially. For now."

I was aghast. "You let a child FIGHT? Thats barbaric!"

Piccolo grunted. "Don't get all huffy. He's far more powerful than he looks. He could snap you like a twig if he wanted to. Also, I think you've got the wrong idea. We train with one another, but this isn't a fight club. We fight only when we need to."

I must have had a confused look in my eye, because Chao-Tsu clarified the statement. "What Piccolo is trying to say is that we only fight in extreme situations, like the King Piccolo crisis, or the Alien Landing situation, if you can remember about a year and a half ago."

I struggled to remember the sparse news coverage of the situation. I vaguely recalled newscasts the aliens destroy several ships with Ki blasts, and I vividly recalled seeing them fighting a group of warriors, who appeared to be losing badly to just the larger one. I had, in fact, been on my way down to their location - I didn't imagine I could do much against them, but someone had to try - when I heard about their defeat. I started.

"Group of warriors..." I mumbled.

"Looks like he remembers," Yamcha said in a smug manner.

"So, wait...," I said, trying to grasp the situation. I simply could not believe I was speaking to saviors of the planet. "You're telling me... that you guys are the ones who stopped the aliens?"

Krillin looked sheepish. "Well.. actually.."

Piccolo spoke. "They creamed us. Well, just Nappa, really. Vegeta didn't really do anything but order Nappa around. Oh, and the aliens were of a race of warriors called the saiyans. And... erm... Goku did most of the stopping. We were more of a liability in that fight, for the most part."

Yamcha spoke up defensively. "Well, come on, he did have kind of an advantage over us, seeing as how he was one of them..."

My eyes must have glazed over again. Chao-Tsu turned the conversation back to its original point. "ANYWAY... thats all ancient history. The real point is, we need a replacement for goku... or at least someone to try and step into his shoes."

I stepped back, startled. "Uhm... you might have the wrong person, here. Goku would have squashed me like a bug. No way I can fight in his stead."

Tien's eyes - all three of them- narrowed. "We can train you to be more powerful - not as powerful as Goku... even we aren't that strong. But we can train you to be pretty strong. Right now you have what, fifteen years of martial arts experience? And about the same for ki manipulation?"

"More like eight and three. Goku only taught me a little, but it was enough for me to figure out most of it... I think."

Everyones eyes widened. Tien whistled "Well, that explains why Goku recommended you. You must have enormous potential to be that strong after only eight years, and with only three years of ki manipulation, you're lucky you managed to make it this far.. Well, you're qualified, and we can probably get you up to snuff in a few months. You might wind up being even stronger than me, and I'm the strongest human in the group. If you're willing..."

I stood up and inflated my chest. "Willing to be a hero? Who in their right mind would pass up the oppertunity? Just one question... will this interfere with my job- I'm a scientist at Capsule Corp, and I-"

Krillin chuckled. "Oh, I think we can convince Bulma to give you a paid leave of absence for this. And if she won't, I'm sure that Tien can afford your sallary easily from the interest on the prize money he won in the world tourney a few years back."

Tien scowled. "Six million zenni does make a lot of interest, Krillin, but don't go giving away my money, if you please. I'll do it if I have to, but lets TRY and convince Bulma to foot the bill, eh?"

Somehow or other they managed to convince Bulma to both let me go for a few months paid leave and lend them an item they called a "scouter", which they said would let them more easily gauge my improvement, and allow me to do the same. I was then introduced to a marvel of physics which I still fail to understand, called the hyperbolic time chamber. Somehow -it was explained to me in some small detail as a chamber where space and time decompressed themselves due to higher, artificially created gravity from a small singularity in an infinite space dimension - making it ideal for training, as a year inside would pass as a day outside. It took about a day and a half for me to make the arrangements I would need to train for two years in the chamber - alone. I personally installed a gym and a new and improved gravity chamber, which could go all the way up to 700 times normal earth gravity, or almost 2100 in the time chamber. All involvoed were impressed with the new numbers.

The plan we decided on was this - I would spend the next two years of my life in the chamber, training nonstop. In the case of an emergency where I was required, a radio system was installed in my gravity chamber, so I could be summoned if needed. And thus, the next two years of my life, I spent without human contact, gaining power rapidly - according to the scouter I had started with a power of one hundred and twenty one, which sounded reasonable to me; however, by the end of my session in the chamber, the scouter read me at exactly eight hundred sixty nine thousand, seven hundred and twenty two - and I could feel the power coursing through me. Piccolo had seen fit to include a namekian encyclopedia of ki techniques, and by the end of my time, I had mastered almost half of the four hundred and fifty seven attacks. I had analyzed video records of Goku's battles with Piccolo, Vegeta, Captain Ginyu, and to a limited extent, Frieza - Goku had not quite finished him off on Namek, but had not made the mistake again when Frieza appeared again on earth, which was where the video records came from - and I had improvised a less than optimum Kaioken technique - consuming more energy but also more stable for the body - which gave me a maximum power level of just over one point two eight million, for a short time, which I named Myoken in jest. Tien had been right - I HAD surpassed him, though only barely. I FELT like a juggernaut. What a fool I was, not even realizing that I could not have been farther from the truth.


	3. Melee In Amenbo

Note: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the characters in this story, excepting Serrik Zash and any other characters not found in the Dragonball Z anime or Manga.

This is my first fic, so feel free to read and review. I'm planning on about 7-9 chapters, regardless, but I would welcome feedback, positive or negative.

Warning: This chapter is going to be graphic.

A Story Of Things To Come

Chapter Three : Melee in Amenbo

I remeber it vividly - the day this chaos started. I was staying with Tien until I could control my power well enough to not destroy my apartment trying to enter it. I had just woken up from my fourth day outside the time chamber, and I was still basking in the glory of being one of the strongest beings alive. I had breakfast - coffee, an apple, and a piece of sourdough - and I was getting ready to spar with Tien and Chao-Tsu in the gravity chamber - he had decided that after seeing my results, high gravity wasn't a bad way to go, as had most of my colleagues - when we were summoned to the lookout by Piccolo. I raced Tien through the skies, with him as an unwilling participant in my exuberance - he dourly noted that if Piccolo had summoned us there was likely trouble. I considered this, and began racing for the lookout at top speed - I could not BELIEVE that trouble had found me so soon, especially with no ki massive enough to be concerned about with the exception of my allies across the entire planet, but that seemed to be what had happened. I landed at the lookout and rushed to find Piccolo.

"Over here" I heard his gruff voice call out. "Krillin, Yamcha and Gohan are already here. Before I forget, Gohan, meet Serrik, and vice versa."

Gohan stood up and held out his hand. "Wow... you're pretty strong. I was wondering what that was that I felt."

I shook his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. You're not all that bad yourself. You feel almost as strong as your father was."

Gohan shook his head. "IS. As strong as my father IS."

I looked at Piccolo and raised an eyebrow, wondering if Gohan was in denial. Piccolo just looked at me and shook his head, and I proceeded to nevermind. I then noted the map Piccolo held in his hands. "So... what's the situation?"

"Not sure" Piccolo grunted. "All I know is that there have been several massive explosions on Amenbo Island, and there is no cause I can detect."

"So what, theres a mad bomber on the loose?" Tien asked.

"Not sure, but this doesn't strike me as a bomber. Its all high rise buildings and they're all localized in one spot. Someone just after a single target would have done better recon than just finding the general area the target lived in, and someone who loved distruction would have planted bombs in more than just one area. This almost looks like someone with an insane level of power blowing apart a city... but thats impossible. None of us sense ANYTHING. Right?

We all nodded in agreement.

Krillin gestured toward the sky. "Could it be someone in orbit blasting the cities?"

Piccolo shook his head. "We would be able to feel that."

I got a bewildered look on my face. "What if they're just too far off to sense?"

Yamcha sighed. "It doesn't work that way. The rule is that precision plus power multiplied by distance is how much is detracted from the concentration needed to hide your power. We would be able to sense him no matter how far away he was, unless he was just taking potshots."

Piccolo nodded in agreement. "And even so, we would be able to sense the incoming energy. But I don't sense anything. It's almost like conventional weapons fire... except that conventional weapons don't pack that much punch, and it's too little punch for a nuclear weapon. I just don't understand it, and I REALLY don't like it, but we don't have much choice. We'll meet on this mountain," he pointed to a hill south of town, "In half an hour."

I suddenly remembered that we were one person short. "Hey... Uhhh, Piccolo... where's Vegeta?"

Piccolo snorted derisively. "The 'Prince' can't be bothered to interrupt his training schedule with something this 'trivial'."

I tried to resist the urge to laugh, but to no avail. Piccolo scowled. "Half an hour!"

We met on the hilltop half an hour later, and just as I landed, a massive explosion took a skyscraper near me to the ground. I stood in awestruck terror for a moment before realizing that I now also held the power to do that, quite easily as a matter of fact.

Piccolo looked toward the explosion, worried. "Thats definitely not from orbit... lets check the most recent blast area. Move cautiously... we still don't know whats doing this."

We flew cautiously, as a group, trying to watch every direction at once. The hulks of twisted metal that had once been the frames of buildings were burned and blackened. We saw a few huddled groups of survivors trying to hide from us, and I wondered what could have scared them so. What could have destroyed their lives. I was getting angry, angry at whatever had done this to people who had done nothing to deserve it.

As we entered the blast area for the most recent explosion, we noted two teenagers standing in the midst of the chaos, laughing. I remeber thinking that they must have cracked under the strain of their home going down in front of them. Such, as we later found out, was not the case.

One of the teenagers was a boy, with shoulder length black hair, a black shirt and jeans on, with a bandanna wrapped around his neck. He sported steel gray eyes, with a gaze that, even then, sent a shiver down my spine. The other was a girl, with a black and white horizontal striped shirt and a pair of black stockings, over which she wore a denim and a short denim skirt. The unnerving thing was that they both had those cold, steel blue eyes.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about them was their energy. It was too... stable. They could be felt, but their power did not rise and fall gently like a normal humans. Instead, it simply stayed at a flat rate, never ebbing or flowing.

The blonde laughed at her compatriot. "Do it again, Seventeen! That was sooo awesome."

The boy grinned at her. "Nonsense. I don't want to hog all the..." his voice trailed off as he noticed us. "Oh look, Eighteen, we have... guests."

The way he said that... it was unforgettable. It struck a chord of fear in my heart and made me want to turn tail and run, despite the fact that I still felt no power from them. Piccolo, however, was slightly less unnerved. "You there!" he barked at them. "Did you see how this happened?"

The boy, apparently named... Seventeen, for some odd reason, nodded and grinned like a jackal.

Piccolo snarled, "HOW DID IT HAPPEN!"

Seventeen laughed.

Piccolo's face contorted with rage. "HOW!"

Seventeen held out a hand to the nearest standing high rise. "Ooooh... about like this..." he said. And then, out of nowhere, with no warning, no sudden buildup of energy, no NOTHING, the boy shot out a blast of energy and leveled the building.

We all sat there, shocked, as the building began collapsing under its own weight. A dust cloud blew out from it, but it failed to disguise the silhouettes of the two terrors. They were laughing, almost giddily. And their eyes were glowing blue.

Piccolo seemed less than phased, which was more than I could say. I was still stunned... you're SUPPOSED to be able to feel a power like that. But Piccolo just grimaced and stated the obvious. "You're not human."

The girl - Eighteen - laughed. "This one's perceptive, Seventeen. Can I keep it? I've been looking for a pet."

Seventeen replied, "Go right ahead, eighteen, just remember that if you can't control it, you don't get to whine to me."

Eighteen stuck out her tongue and shot seventeen an evil glare. "I think he'll be a fun toy. And he won't break so easy as the ones before."

Yamcha gritted his teeth. "Ones before?"

Eighteen pointed to several craters on a wall of a building they had yet to blast. "These little human creatures don't hold together so well. Can't even take a little battle."

Tien looked on in open mouthed shock. "You... you're monsters!"

I couldn't help but agree, but I was too sickened by what I was seeing to say or do anything.

As we looked on, seventeen rushed over to a little boy who was making his way out of the rubble of their latest target, badly bruised but not too much worse for the wear.. "Hello, there, little girl. You look lost. Where's your mommy?"

The little boy only pointed to the rubble.

Seventeen looked troubled. "Oh, no... that won't do at all, now will it. Here, let me help you get her out."

An instant of hope shone in the childs eyes. "Really, mister?"

Seventeen put a benevolant look on his face. "Of course." For a moment our group held their collective breaths, as we contemplated the possibility of these creatures meerly being misguided. Perhaps, we thought, we might not have to fight after all. He looked toward the building. "I'll help... just like... THIS!" Instantly, energy beams shot from his eyes, causing an explosion in the rubble. I looked away, the bright, searing heat too much for my eyes. When I looked back, the rubble was reduced to a crater, and the child was gone.

"WHERE IS HE!" Krillin snarled.

Seventeen just jerked a hand over his shoulder... and I noted a new crater in the building.

And it was too much for me. I let out a scream that would make the damned turn in their graves, raising my power to the greatest possible level, using Myoken, using every ounce of strength I had, and I leapt foreward, smashing my hand into Seventeens face.

Or at least trying to. I was shocked at his speed, his agility. I hadn't laid a finger on him yet, and he was laughing at me as I struggled to hit him. My rage escalated and I tried even harder to hit him, but to no avail. He was simply too fast.

Suddenly, a fist slammed into my gut, and I tasted the coppery tang of blood in my mouth. Something as hard as steel clubbed me across the shoulders, and I fell, struggling to maintain consciousness. I writhed in pain, struggling to stay focussed. A kick to my lower back shattered that struggle, and I found myself sailing toward a lamppost, screaming at the top of my lungs. It hit me in my already hurting abdomen, and I was wrapped around it, falling limp to the ground like a rag doll. I looked at my friends, and through blurry vision, I saw that while Krillin and Gohan were slightly scared, Tien, Chao-Tsu, Yamcha and Piccolo were just plain old pissed. The four lept into action, and I tore my eyes away from the fight, trying to get to my feet to aid in it. I heard several impacts, sounding like stone hitting steel, which I assumed to be my comrades actually landing blows.

By the time I was on my feet, all of my friends were in the fight a little bit. The first thing I noted was Piccolo landing a blow on Eighteens head with his foot. She did a backflip, and followed him up into the air. Tien launched a blast at her, and she swatted it aside, spinning to kick Piccolo, who was no longer there. She spun all the way back around just in time to catch Tien by the arm and toss him into Krillin, who was charging in at Seventeen. The blow knocked him off course, and they fell in a tangle of limbs. Seventeen turned again just in time to leap out of the way of a Masenko beam Piccolo had prepared. By this time I had recovered enough to leap and kick Eighteen in the stomach, but she turned aside my kick and used a judo throw to toss me down into the concrete. I caught myself less than an inch above the concrete, and rolled out of the way to dodge a concrete shattering kick by Eighteen.

Meanwhile, seventeen was playing at the same game with Yamcha that he had with me, but Yamcha played it smarter than me and had Gohan launch a masenko at his back. He dodged aside, and for a moment it looked as if seventeen was going to finally take the brunt of a major attack, but he somehow erected some sort of energy absorbing shield, turning aside the masenko. By this time, however, Krillin and Tien had untangled themselves, and Tien placed a kick right on the back of seventeens head, which sent the android flying off into one of the heavily cratered buildings.

Krillin, meanwhile, had launched himself at Eighteen, and she leapt over him, spinning to kick him in midair. This freed me up from my rolling out of the way of Eighteens feet, and I got to my feet, stumbling. Tien lauched a blast at the swiveling eighteen, and she redirected her kick to turn his blast against Krillin, who was hit squarely with it and knocked into my lightpost cushion, screaming as he hit the steel, knocking the post over. He bowled end over end for a moment or two, then began trying to get back to his feet.

Eighteen had used this distraction to charge Gohan, but Piccolo managed to tackle her. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw seventeen returning, a grimace of displeasure on his face. I reactivated my myoken, and charged seventeen, hoping to give the others enough time to disable eighteen as they swarmed her. Unfortunately, Seventeen was no longer in any mood for games, and turning aside my punch, used my arm to swing me over his head and down into the concrete. This was quickly followed by a kick to the face, which, though I blocked most of with my arm, still sent my flying into a wall.

Krillin was back on his feet by now, and leapt up into the air, over Eighteen. "MOVE!" he commanded, and everyone did, swarming Seventeen instead. Krillin used the oppertunity to launch a Kamehameha wave at Eighteen, and for once, it hit. Krillin didn't wait for the dust to clear before he zoomed in to strike again, and I saw him fly out just as quickly, as Eighteen smashed him in the face, and with some fear I noted that the beam didn't even really seem to phase her.

Seventeen was having some minor trouble coping with all the blows he was recieving, but still was holdig his own. Suddenly, Eighteen rushed over and used Piccolo as a bludgeon against gohan, sending them both into a building, at the same time kicking Tien in the opposite directiion. Yamcha was all alone against Seventeen, but he would not back down. For his trouble, he got a pair of fists in the face, one from each of the teens.

Seventeen laughed at us as we lay, broken in the rubble. "Hah! Wow... you were right, Eighteen. That was fun. We should find some more like this. They're fun to fight."

Eighteen considered. "Yes... but-"

Suddenly, a vaguely fammiliar voice rang out from the sky. "If its a fight you want, you've come to the right place. Prepare to taste my wrath!"

Looking up, I saw Vegeta, in some kind of armor. It was a most welcome sight.


End file.
